United States of America
Located on the mainland of the North American continent, and separated from the savages of Asia by the Pacific and the hostility and envy of Europe and Africa by the Atlantic, the United States have much to thank Providence for. Not only do they control a nation of states and dependencies, altogether as strong as France (yet geographically isolated from the same), America is blessed with economic exurberance, while Europe is plagued with existential angst, and Asia is immured in violent strife. But how long can it last? with new wealth and power, there too will be jealousy: sinister forces now stalk the slums, brothels, and corridors of power of Europe, while in Asia there exist the twin evils of Communism and the stark militarism of the Empire of the Rising Sun. Nevertheless, this could merely presage a new and exciting chapter in American history: after all, what is the shining knight in armour without a dragon to slay? Gameplay As a newcomer to the global affairs stage, the United States could be a potential winner. With greater migration and an innovative "can-do" spirit which has caught on even with their European cousins, the ability of America to expand through demographics and political influence cannot be underestimated. In battles, the Americans' ability to capture and hold cities means that they are extremely useful at what Age of Darkness is about: conquest. Which leaves us to ask one question: what's the catch? Sadly, there is indeed a catch and it's in the quality and ease of research for most US units, especially vehicles. Although the quality of American shipping can't be sniffed at, the same can't be said of most US vehicles, tanks especially. Firstly, tanks and other vehicles don't enjoy any special perks - they don't have the intel-savviness of the Brits, nor do they have the awesome hitting power of the Russian or German tanks. Tanks are also the Achilles heel of the US as well especially in the early game where their research and upgrade costs tend to be astronomical, but over time become the cheapest in the game. So in many ordinary games, an American player may be constrained to two different tactics: either booming or turtling, and even so survival is pretty much questionable given how deficient US armour tends to be at the beginning of the game. Leaders *Liberal: FDR *Fascist: John Nance Garner *Communist: Earl Browder CtW objectives *Maintain control of your home territories of: New England; Virginia; California; Oregon; Dakota Plains; Pacific Northwest; Carolina; Ohio; Texas; Florida; Great Lakes; Montana; Louisiana; Colorado; Hawaii; Alaska. *Gather 2,000 tribute AND *Defeat Germany and Japan OR *Before the Atomic Era, control the following: Southern Asia; Pacific Territories covered North America *New England *Virginia *California *Oregon *Dakota Plains *Pacific Northwest *Carolina *Ohio *Texas *Florida *Great Lakes *Montana *Louisiana *Colorado *Hawaii *Alaska Central America and Caribbean *Cuba *Panama Pacific *Luzon *Mindanao *Guam China *Shanghai Unique units (note that many of these units are shared with other nations) Infantry *Rifle infantry: GI Specialists 4-6 *Anti-armour: Bazooka M1 5 => Bazooka M20 *Machine gun: M2 Browning 3-6 (can be used against tanks and armoured vehicles) *Conscript: National Guard *Super-unit: Marine Infantry? *Flamethrower infantry (only for balance) *Commando: Rangers. Commandos are often armed with submachine guns. Tanks *Light tanks: FT-17^ 1 => M1 "Combat Car" 2 => M2 Light 3 => M3 Stuart# 4 => M24 Chaffee 6 *Medium tanks: M3 Lee# 4 => M4 Sherman# 5-6 *Heavy tanks: Mk VIII Liberty^ phased out later to M3 Lee => Pershing 6 Artillery *SPGs: M7 Priest 5 => M40 Long Tom 6 *Tank destoryer: M18 Hellcat *Rocket launcher: Sherman Calliope *Cannon: Schneider 1-3 => M3 light howitzer *AT gun => QF 6 lber with Capitalism Other vehicles *White Armored Car 1 => M3 Armoured Car2-3 => M8 Greyhound# 4 *M3 Calliope (requires an M3 chassis, and another tech in order to be created) *M3 Satan => M4 Zippo *SPAD => Quadmont AA Halftrack (supplies troops, has offensive capabilities) 4 Aircraft *Fighters: Biplane 1-2 => Mohawk 3 (consumed by Warhawk) => Mustang 6 *Bombers: B-23 Dragon 3-4 => B17 Flying Fortress 5-6 *Light bomber: Glenn Martin Bomber 2 (consumed by B-23 Dragon) => Warhawk 4-5 => P-38 Lightning 6 Naval unitsms:Amerika Syarikat *Capital ship: Iowa-class battleship - Average-strength battleship. Capable of outranging warships like the Vittorio Veneto class, but still fragile against other ships, especially such as Bismarck-class or Yamato-class warships. It however is distinguished from other factions by having a lower pop cost, and a fast build time. Theoretically, the USA can churn out quite a number of these warships. *Battle cruiser: Baltimore-class cruiser - America doesn't build cruisers, it just upgrades its battle cruisers to heavy cruisers. The Baltimore-class heavy cruiser is an upgrade of the battle cruiser - slightly more expensive than the destroyer, but easier to build and has the following benefits: it's as fast an manoeuvreable as any cruiser, but has enough firepower and hull strength approximating the battle cruiser. *Aircraft carrier: Yorktown-class - the best carrier in the whole game, with a good operational range. *PT Boat: faster than Coast Guard, has an attack bonus against shorebound infantry. National bonuses Manifest Destiny: *Start with Suffrage researched. *Receive 2 free light artillery unit(s) whenever you build a new Siege Factory or Factory. *Artillery units upgrade for free. *Citizens are 33% cheaper. *Conquered cities are assimilated 200% faster. * Military research at the Library 33% cheaper. Unit bonuses *Tanks initially cost a lot to research, but over time become cheaper than that of the enemy. *Bombers and fighters take less time to build. *Vehicles produced from the Armoury and Munitions Factory are produced faster and have ramp costs slashed for all materials except for oil. Category:Major powers